In the grand scheme of things, remote work is still a relatively new phenomenon. This is easy to forget when it’s part of one’s everyday life — which is why it’s all the more important to remind oneself that nobody has it figured out perfectly yet.
People and organizations are still experimenting — succeeding, yes. But also: struggling. Failing. We’re all exploring and negotiating the future of work.
Software developers use computers not only for writing programs — they also use them to communicate and collaborate with one another. Software development is very much a social activity: collaboration and communication activities can have a powerful impact on the success of software projects.
Computer-support for these activities is not restricted to remote companies or distributed projects — even co-located teams use software that supports group communication and collaboration in their daily work.
Developers use many, many tools to collaborate. Those tools solve problems, but also create new challenges: distractions impede productivity, developers struggle to keep up with everything, or partially adopted tools — those are just a few examples. But how can we tackle those problems?